Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
In the District of Maryland, 54 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 78% received a prison term. The median prison term was 14 months, compared with 15.1 months in all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 49 people (91%).
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In brief: In the District of Maryland, 54 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 78% received a prison term. The median prison term was 14 months, compared with 15.1 months in all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 49 people (91%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 54 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Restitution Was Ordered in Most Cases
Restitution was ordered for 49 of the 54 people (91%), and a fine for 11 (20%). After prison, 42 people (78%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 24 months.
In criminal history, 81% were in the lowest category and 0% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Prison Terms
A total of 42 people (78%) received a prison term, and 5 (9%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 14 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
For tax offenses in all 94 districts, 66% were sent to prison and the median was 15.1 months. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, the median was 48 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 54 people (4%).
Guideline Range Results
Below the guideline range without a government request were 32 people (59%). Below it at the government's request were 11 (20%), within the range were 10 (19%), and above it was 1 (2%).
For tax offenses in all 94 districts, 24% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 31%. The Maryland share was lower than both.
Which Tax Guidelines Applied?
"Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and it is based on the primary guideline. The most common was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), with 24 people. Next was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), with 20.
Then came §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax), with 7, and §2T1.9 (Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax), with 1. Tax cases were less than 1% of the 6,044 people sentenced in the district.
Plea Rates and Trial Terms
Of the 54 people, 44 (81%) pleaded guilty, and 10 were convicted after a trial. In all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 95%.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 25.5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 10 people. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
Yearly Numbers
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 17 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 37. The largest year in the table is 2024 with 13 people, and the median prison term in that year was 15 months. No row appears for fiscal year 2017.
Yearly medians range from 3 months in 2025 to 36 months in 2018. The groups are too small to show a trend. A fiscal year starts in October and ends the following September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 12 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2018 | 5 | 36 months | 2 of 5 |
| 2019 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 2 | 6 months | 0 of 2 |
| 2021 | 7 | 19.5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 8 | 27 months | 5 of 8 |
| 2024 | 13 | 15 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 4 | 3 months | 4 of 4 |
What These Records Leave Out
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are included. Terms are those imposed, not time served. The records do not show the amount of tax involved or any case facts.
Fort Meade, Maryland, and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, which are not part of this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (54). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.